Wretched Excess

 This Easter morning was breezy and spectacular. The kind of day which makes me feel vital and full of hope and promise.

Of course, now that I've eaten way tooooo many chocolate Easter candies, all I can think about is a nice afternoon nap.

Curse you Easter Bunny and your overflowing basket :-)

Unpaid Escort

I really did not expect to see dolphins today. But there they were, right at the midpoint of my ocean swim this morning.

I hung with them for a few minutes before resuming my swim. Darned if they did not accompany me the entire way back to the beach.

Click HERE for more photos from today's swim.

Give Me Maui

Be it on land or on sea, there is no place I would rather be. Give me Maui any day.

Cowardly Swimmer

What has happened to me? I have become such a coward around giant mother whales.

I was swimming along the shore this morning when a mom and baby Humpback Whale began swimming toward me. The second I saw them, I ceased swimming and floated in place. Normally, I would continue floating there and let them check me out, but the last few times I've begun backpedaling as they approach.

My excuse is that it can't be good to risk coming between a mom and her baby, especially when they are giant wild animals. And whale calves are often very curious and a little too bold, sometimes swimming right up to me, which can make mom nervous. And protective.

So this morning, I turned onto my back and kicked gently away from them, taking photos between my legs as they passed by.

If you want to see the full encounter, click HERE, and witness my cowardice in action.

Not Toes

When I run out of ideas and can't think of anything to photograph, I fall back on taking pictures of the landscaping. It could be worse, I could develop a fascination with my toes...

Don't Sneak Up

Game playing Spinner Dolphins accosted me during my ocean swim this morning.

Which normally would have been fine and dandy, but not today in such murky water (which begs the question: what was I doing swimming in murky water?). Fortunately, phrases in parentheses don't count and do not have to be answered.

Anyway, back to the murky water... Because visibility was so poor, I was repeatedly startled by dolphins suddenly appearing out of nowhere. And then they would swim a few meters away and completely disappear. Didn't their mothers ever tell then that it isn't polite to sneak up on people?

Click HERE for more photos from today's swim.

Honolua Rainforest

 To get to Honolua Bay you have to hike through a small magical patch of rainforest.

I love this spot and if I lived on the other side of the island, I would go to Honolua almost every day.

Lunchtime

I love living on Maui.

Even though I only took a half hour for lunch between photo shoots today, I still managed a trip to the beach. Life is good.

Kids!

What is it about whales and cloudy water?

I saw white moving toward me during my ocean swim this morning and at first wondered if a big breaking wave was headed my way. Nope. It was a Humpback Whale calf swimming toward me on its side while slapping the surface of the water with its above-water pectoral fin.  It then proceeded to roll onto its back while swimming away. Kids!

Click HERE for all the photos from today's brief encounter.

Whale Water

In all my years of swimming out deep, I've consistently noticed that Humpback Whales usually  find me as I swim through murky (less than clear) water. This morning was no exception. I am amazed that my camera even caught these images since I could barely tell the whales were there. All I really saw was the bright white of the pectoral fin as it passed me by. So I aimed in that direction and kept punching the shutter button, and lucked out with these two photos.

A Clever Plan

Maui's Spinner Dolphins have an interesting system for sleeping.

While the main group rests by slowly swimming back and forth, they've assigned one of their party to play with snorkelers and keep the humans busy. A very clever plan and one which works well.

Click HERE for a couple more photos from this morning's swim.

Hazy Dayz

This morning started out a little hazy - beautiful - but hazy. Another glorious day in paradise.

Always Tomorrow

My buddies, the Maui Spinner Dolphins, circled me a few times during the start of my ocean swim this morning.

There was a big crowd of snorkelers following them around, too big a crowd, so I took alone off for deep water.

Conditions rapidly deteriorated when a gusty wind began blowing, so I cut my swim short and wisely headed to shore. I figure there's always tomorrow.

Click HERE for more photos from today's swim.

Sweet Surf Wagon

A two door station wagon, who knew that such things were ever made? What a sweet surf wagon.

Who Cares?

Even though I am back to working a lot, I managed a quick swim in the ocean this morning.

I did not see any dolphins or whales, but who cares? I got to swim for a while with a Manta Ray and several big sea turtles.

Life is good.

Old and New

My old buddy, Bruce, swam out to greet me this morning and to chat. It is always nice to catch up with old friends . . .

. . . and new ones too. I enjoyed getting to meet this couple from Seattle and hope to see them out in the ocean again soon.

Aloha Mater

Look who washed up on Maui's shores this morning.

Yes, it is my mother who stopped by for a couple of hours today as she passed through the islands.

Sample Bite

Big fish are fearless and will come right up to me to check me out. This guy decided I didn't look tasty enough and swam off without even trying a sample bite.

Quick Swim-By

I spotted this whale deep down below me this morning.

Then it saw me, swam underneath me as it surfaced and swam away.

Typical whale behavior - a quick swim-by to check me out and then gone.

Spring is in the Air

Spring is in the air and flowers were out everywhere along my walk this morning.

Happy Birthday & Farewell

It felt really good to get back into the ocean with the Maui Pink Cap Swimmers this morning. I thoroughly enjoyed our potluck brunch on shore after the swim. Thanks for the great omelets, Rich; and Happy Birthday to Linda and Farewell until next year to Bonnie.

Click HERE for more photos from today's swim.

Thrilling

As you know, due to my recent run-ins with tiger sharks, I have only been timidly swimming close to shore.

So imagine my surprise when three Humpback Whales swam up to me in shallow water this morning. As soon as I saw them coming, I stopped swimming and floated in place.

The mother whale was very curious, and I think she wanted to play. But how does one play with a giant? She swam up to me three times, each time closer than the previous pass, which made me very nervous. Every time she approached me, I quietly backed away until she finally seemed to get the message.

It was a thrilling experience - and scarey too.

Click HERE for more photos from today's encounter.